Chapter 12 - THE WOMAN WHO BETRAYED HER

Ava wanted to hate Monica for using her, but tied to a chair she looked like another person Damian had decided he owned.

Ava sent the image to investigators, but Damian had learned how to hide the signal.

Then Monica called.

Video.

Ava answered.

Damian’s face appeared.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He smiled.

“You always hated conflict.”

“I hated pointless conflict.”

“Bring the laptop.”

“The police have copies.”

His smile disappeared.

“Not the original encryption key.”

Ava frowned.

“What key?”

Damian turned the camera.

Monica cried, “Ava, don’t come!”

He hit her.

Ava flinched.

“Stop.”

“There’s my girl.”

“Where?”

Damian gave an address in Red Hook.

An abandoned furniture warehouse.

“Come alone.”

He ended the call.

Ava called Naomi.

Then Lucian.

She almost didn’t.

But pride was not strategy.

He answered on the first ring.

“What happened?”

She told him.

“I’m coming.”

“No. You don’t get to decide.”

After a pause, he asked, “What do you need?”

She answered.

“Your security team coordinates with police. No one moves until I say.”

“You are not going inside alone.”

“I didn’t say I was.”

Years producing events had taught Ava entrances, exits, timing and crowd flow. Buildings were systems; so were people.

She pulled up the warehouse plans.

A service tunnel let police enter unseen while Ava approached visibly as a distraction.

Lucian listened.

“That’s dangerous.”

“Yes.”

“I hate this plan.”

“So do I.”

“Then we agree.”

For half a second, she almost smiled.

At 2:10 a.m., Ava walked toward the warehouse carrying a laptop bag.

Damian stood beneath one hanging light.

Monica was behind him.

He smiled.

“You came.”

Ava stopped twenty feet away.

“I always did clean up your messes.”

His smile disappeared.

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Then a gun appeared in his hand.

“You should have kept doing that.”